KJP

My 11-year-old boy says "womp womp."

Sherwin-Williams HQ grand opening set, tower isn’t By Ken Prendergast / January 17, 2025 Although the grand-opening ceremony for the new Sherwin-Williams headquarters tower has been set, repairs to already finished areas are pushing occupancy of the tower months farther into the future. Some employees told NEOtrans they don’t expect to migrate over to the new tower until next fall. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/17/sherwin-williams-hq-grand-opening-set-tower-isnt/

Council referred the amendment, comprised of three new whereas clauses, to Planning Commission's DR committee for its input. All it did was give a thumbs-up. Note that I got the math wrong -- the TIF extension is to 42 years, not 60. I still don't understand that whereas clause, so I'm going to trust them that they're not BSing me.

Already has been surfaced -- and striped, too.

City seeks future TIF funds for Riverfront work now By Ken Prendergast / January 17, 2025 Mayor Justin Bibb's administration is requesting an important amendment to the city's riverfront tax increment financing (TIF) district that would do two things. One spells out exactly what infrastructure work would be done. A second would extend the 30-year TIF to 42 years. And the third and perhaps most controversial is that it would pledge undefined future TIF revenues to start infrastructure work now. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/17/city-seeks-future-tif-funds-for-riverfront-work-now/

And his 47-foot tall building is already allowed under the current zoning but would have to be set back from West 26th -- or closer to the existing residences to the west. Whalen seeks the rezoning because he would have to go through fewer city hoops that way. The residents don't seem to realize that he can build it larger and closer to them under the current zoning!

Metroparks deserve to be watched just like every other governmental entity. This is an organization that has tried to wantonly demolish a number buildings, succeeding with some (Flats, Slavic Village etc) and deterred from others (eg: historic Coast Guard Station).

Little Italy’s Singer Steel has new owner By Ken Prendergast / January 16, 2025 Passersby took note of a new sign that has gone up this week on the old Singer Steel building, 2100 Random Rd. in Cleveland’s Little Italy. The sign is for an active local developer named TurnDev of Beachwood, leading those passersby to wonder what’s next for the former industrial building that was turned into covered parking area. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/16/little-italys-singer-steel-has-new-owner/

The Brownfield funding application and Metroparks funding pledge to it was approved this morning. The good news is that Metroparks planners say that the funding doesn't guarantee demolition. They said they're open to development. The funding could be used for range of options.

Today, nearly all of the Ravenna Arsenal, now called Camp James A. Garfield, is used by the Ohio National Guard as a military training facility, with approximately 93% of the original land being actively utilized for training purposes; the remaining area is undergoing cleanup or is used for environmental monitoring. Key points about the Ravenna Arsenal today: Primary use: Military training by the Ohio National Guard New name: Camp James A. Garfield Land usage: Most of the 21,500-acre site is actively used for training Production facilities: Inactive and not used for ammunition production anymore Land west of the Ravenna Arsenal toward SR14 is mostly undeveloped including as a golf course. If that can be combined with the undeveloped west end of Camp Garfield (7 percent of it is 1,500 acres, perhaps a bit more could be acquired from the Ohio National Guard), it provides a 4,800-development site. Other mostly undeveloped lands nearby might be cleared of their few users and added, too. And look at its strategic location in NE Ohio...

Yet another death spiral?? How many more deaths can downtown take!!

Downtown Flagstar Bank closing; What does it mean? By Ken Prendergast / January 15, 2025 Customers who have accounts at Flagstar Bank’s Downtown Cleveland branch received letters this week saying that the branch will be closing and that all accounts will be moving soon to Flagstar’s Ohio City branch. But the $2.6 billion question is: why? MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/15/downtown-flagstar-bank-closing-what-does-it-mean/

A source just told me there is a report (subject to an NDA) on the structural integrity of those buildings which says they can be redeveloped. And because the site is in a National Historic Landmark district, it would have to go through a Section 106 review as part of the Brownfield Program work, thus requiring that the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation gets a reasonable opportunity to comment. But the source said Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman doesn't like buildings; he likes land and once demolished a Slavic Village historical structure on Warner Road for a Mill Creek trail -- without any permits, let alone any advanced notice or review.

"A lot of people were saying, ‘We’re confused! We’re confused by Issue 1.’ ... Confusion means we don’t know, so we did our job,” Triantafilou said. “Confusing Ohioans was not such a bad strategy." Imagine being this amoral and contemptuous of voters. https://www.thenews-messenger.com/story/news/local/2025/01/14/ohio-gop-chair-brags-confusing-ohioans-during-election/77669351007/

Metroparks seeks funds to demolish Flats mill By Ken Prendergast / January 15, 2025 Since the 1930s, the massive Graft Craft silos have been a familiar sight along the Cuyahoga River, on the Flats’ Columbus Road peninsula. But they may not be around much longer if a planned application for demolition and clean-up funds by the Cleveland Metroparks is successful. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/15/metroparks-seeks-funds-to-demolish-flats-mill/

The city hall source who told me that Bibb reached out to Goncalves first said Gongcalves denied saying he would move the combined company's HQ to Pittsburgh. But I found his speech online and listened through the whole thing for the part where he talked about the headquarters. His comments in the article are word-for-word. BTW: that dude is whacked, saying Japan is more evil than China. WTF??

Goncalves: a Cliffs-USS HQ would be in Pittsburgh By Ken Prendergast / January 14, 2025 The headquarters of steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs could move from its namesake city to Pittsburgh if Cliffs is successful in acquiring US Steel, Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. But a Cleveland City Hall source today said Mayor Justin Bibb spoke with Goncalves who reportedly reassured him that relocating Cliffs 1,000-plus staffpersons from Cleveland at this stage is just speculation. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/14/goncalves-a-cliffs-uss-hq-would-be-in-pittsburgh/

Cool....

That rumor mill has gone silent since then. I thought that it would be UC2 (UC1 was designed by Dimit) or perhaps First Interstate might build a tower behind the The University East Building, 11308-11330 Euclid Ave., it is leasing for up to 200 years. I mean, who leases a property for up to 200 years unless you're going to invest big in it? A $4 million update of a small apartment building, while welcome, isn't a big investment.

Until proven otherwise, I would take him at his word. And his word is destructive. Time for the board to oust him.

GLOBAL UKRAINE RAIL TASK FORCE PRESS RELEASE New Year, New Delivery : Protective Gear for Ukrainian Railway Workers Ukrainian Railways staff wearing the new protective equipment Unfortunately, Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine now continues into its 4th calendar year. Already this month, the Trade Union of Railway and Transport Builders of Ukraine has delivered further vital protective equipment to frontline railway workers. There have now been over 100 kits provided. The latest shipment includes bulletproof vests, helmets, and tactical goggles, distributed to the employees of Ukrzaliznytsia (i.e. Ukrainian Railways) in the frontline areas of Kramatorsk, Dnipro, and Kharkiv. This new batch was thanks to financial support from donations, from the non-profit association Rail Partners and others, and enabled by our official charity partner WE AID. But more protective gear is urgently needed (!) So far, we have only provided a fraction of what is necessary. Therefore, please continue to donate - in order to ensure the safety of our colleagues in Ukraine. Please donate at the link below. All major payment cards and many currencies are accepted : https://www.we-aid.org/en/initiatives-2/allrail-support-ukraine-rail-task-force/ Published by Global Ukraine Rail Task Force: c/o ALLRAIL npo (non-profit organization) Rue Washington/Washingtonstraat 40, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Tel : +32 479 07 08 06 Registration number: 0675.784.944 Publication in the Belgian Official Gazette on 27 May 2017 Chair: Jolene Molitoris - [email protected] Co-Chair: Nick Brooks - [email protected] Note that Jolene Molitoris is a former director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, a former head of the Federal Railroad Administration under President Clinton and was a Deputy Director of ODOT's Rail Division in the 1980s.

New Rendering Revealed For 2,000-Unit Residential Skyscraper At 100 Gold Street in Financial District, Manhattan https://newyorkyimby.com/2025/01/new-rendering-revealed-for-2000-unit-residential-skyscraper-at-100-gold-street-in-financial-district-manhattan.html

Ohio City building doesn’t survive the weekend By Ken Prendergast / January 13, 2025 An historic building on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood was there when commuters on the adjacent West Shoreway went home on Friday evening for the weekend. When they went past the site this morning during their return to work, the building was gone. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/13/ohio-city-building-doesnt-survive-the-weekend/

No, not yet